Lago di Como, Italy (Apr 23-27)

Hmm. Europe. Hmm indeed.
I do not feel like writing another article on my visit to Como, Italy. So I shall keep it short and down to some of the key things that I noticed in my 5 day trip across the Atlantic.

Why did I go there? A conference. Enough said. Being my first conference, I attended pretty much every session of the 3 day event (overlapping sessions notwithstanding). And my highlights were therefore pretty much defined by what happened at the conference and the surrounding program. But here goes, the 5 things I found most remarkable about Italy:

1. More motorcycles and an incredibly large number of small cars. Not Honda Civic small. Much, much smaller. Which makes sense, given the steep gas prices (approx. $6 per gallon) , the narrow roads and the congestion.



2. Nobody listens to music. Where are the ipods, the walkmans...the headphones, earplugs. Or even music in the bus, cars, restaurants...I heard no music anywhere. Almost. Admittedly, Pavarotti is not exactly bar fare, but surely, Italians must've heard of the Beatles and that whole guitar-bass-drum thing they started? Rock'n'roll, I believe it's called.
3. They eat in courses and end each meal with an espresso! I had 3 lunches and 1 dinner sponsored by the conference committee and every meal had at least 4 courses: typically starting with a pasta, followed by fish or chicken (and then again) and then dessert and then finally, an espresso. Wine (both red and white) was on all tables for the dinner. And every meal had water jugs of course, but also this sparkling, carbonated water. Even in the shops they sell water with "Gas" and "No Gas". Of course, with the 4-course meal comes the fact that you cannot get a second helping, not even on the spinach pudding (ugh).
4. Time is not money (either that or money is not important). I waited for 30 minutes in line for a train ticket. And there were only 6 people ahead of me! There was just one ticket counter and the guy there was so friendly he would ask you all about you, where you were coming from, where you should go...which was fine, but 30 min? And this was at the Milano Centrale. When I was returning to Milan on my last day at Como, I caught the 6:15 am train ticketless. There was no open counter, the "fast ticket" electronic booth did not accept cash and no conductor was on board.
5. Siesta no more. I did not see anyone napping in the afternoon. Shops were open, ferries and buses were plying. This was of course, in the tourist town of Como. One thing I did notice was how early shops closed. 6pm and shutters down. The Cafe next to my hotel seemed open 24 hours though...I even got an espresso there at 5:30 am. For 85 cents.

That was it. It was more of a social experience for me, meeting folks from different countries and sitting at the same dinner table. Italians, French, Spaniards, Germans, Canadians, Americans...made me realize how little of 20th century Europe is represented in the otherwise diverse US social climate (compared to Asia and South America).

Anyway, a few touristy photos follow nonetheless. The first one is of the Swiss Alps, taken from the window seat of the Milan-Amsterdam flight and I am pretty proud it turned out okay (given how fast a plane moves) :-)

Thanks for reading! Watch out for our coming trips, with tons of plans for the coming summer!